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Radioactivity, is it what we want?
“The most powerful energy introduced to humanity”, yes you guessed right, I am talking about nuclear energy. The thought of splitting an atom, the atoms that build up everything we touch and see. It’s terrifying the amount of energy and destructive power humans discovered, the ability to split an unstable nucleus to cause a huge radioactive explosion. You are talking about the energy that could erase a country out of the globe, and if used all in one time…it could destroy the earth into pieces. Of course, nuclear energy is a type of radioactive energy, but what is radioactive energy? Radioactivity is emitting or relating to the emission of ionizing radiation or particles. So basically radioactivity refers to the particles which are emitted from nuclei result of nuclear instability. Radioactivity was discovered by Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen back in 1895. Those rays are rather deadly than useful, but lately, it has been used in a lot of weapons which makes them a huge threat to the world. So for example, Russia is using its new Tu 95s to carry the new KH-102 nuclear bomb, just imagine a drone with destructive power like that and with mobile capabilities. Radioactive rays could have some major effects on human properties, for example after the Hiroshima bombing in Japan people who got affected by the rays went completely bald as a cause of the rays, and the effect didn’t take more than 2 days to appear. Some other consequences happened like undefined humans properties, some babies were born with 4 legs, or 3 hands or some other weird effects in human properties and genes. Radioactivity is harmful and could cause a lot of deaths in instants but there is a way to stop it and that’s our goal. ' ' Types of Radioactivity Of course, radioactivity contains different types, the first one being Alpha Decay. Alpha decay, also known as Alpha radiation was discovered by Ernest Rutherford in 1898. Alpha Decay as we know happens with an unstable nucleus, it is not able to penetrate through human skin or clothes and travels only a short distance in the air (a few inches). When an atom releases an Alpha Particle, it’s atomic number decreases by two losing two protons and two neutrons. So Uranium-238 decays to Thorium-234 through the process of Alpha Decay. Therefore Alpha Decay can be harmful to humans if the materials inhaled, swallowed, or absorbed through open wounds. And could cause serious damage to the human body. ' ' Secondly, We have Beta-decay which also occurs with an unstable nucleus. Beta-decay, also known as Beta radiation was also discovered by Ernest Rutherford in 1898, Rutherford discovered both Beta and Alpha decay at the same time. Beta-decay can travel several feet in the air also is able to penetrate through human skin which causes major skin issues if the rays are held in for a long time according to how powerful the radiation is. Therefore, Beta-decay is very harmful to humans and could cause serious damage. When Beta-decay occurs, the atom loses a neutron and gain a proton, so basically a beta particle is made when a neutron in an atom changes into a proton and a high-energy electron. So that’s how the atom gains the proton which goes directly to the nucleus and that leads to the atomic number increases by 1 proton. Examples of Beta Decay elements are Strontium-90 and Carbon-14 etc. ' ' Last but not least, we have Gamma and X radiation, probably the most harmful of them all as all of them are harmful. A physicist called Paul Villard discovered Gamma rays in 1900 and differentiated them from X rays in 1896. It also happens to be caused by an unstable nucleus. Gamma and X radiation both have no effect on the atom, but release rays known as Gamma rays. They travel many feet in the human tissue and can penetrate almost anything that’s why it’s sometimes named as the ‘penetrating’ radiation. Gamma and X radiation are electromagnetic radiation like visible light or ultraviolet light or radio waves etc. Highly dense materials are needed to shield anything from Gamma and X radiation, clothes provide some shielding but definitely not enough. Furthermore, Gamma and X rays or at least some of their characteristics frequently accompany Alpha and Beta rays during radioactive decay. Examples of Gamma and X rays are radium-226 and cobalt-6 etc. ' ' Pros and Cons of Radioactivity Furthermore, radioactivity has a terrifying background in our heads, but why don’t we present the positives impacts for radioactivity. Starting off, Nuclear power which is a radioactive element is proven to have much fewer greenhouse emissions. It has been determined that the amount of greenhouse gases released has decreased by almost 50% due to the utilization and use of nuclear power. Nuclear energy has the lowest effect on nature as it doesn’t emit any gasses like methane or carbon dioxide, which are the primary ‘greenhouse gasses’ that affect our environment. Adding on that, there are almost no unfavorable effects on water, land or any territories caused by the utilization of nuclear power, except when transporting the elements. Secondly, nuclear power produces low priced electricity. This is all thanks to the low price uranium which is used as fuel in the process, even though setting up a nuclear power plant is moderately expensive, running one is actually low priced. Furthermore, the normal life of a nuclear reactor is 40-60 years, so it’s gonna last for a while depending on the use of the reactor. Adding on that, this energy is reliable, because if we keep consuming uranium at the same rate, then it is expected that it will last up to 80 years, which means the production of energy will be uninterrupted unlike solar and wind energy as they depend on the weather conditions. Lastly, It is pretty obvious that nuclear energy is more proficient than the use of fossil fuels. As utilizing nuclear energy is more compelling and proficient than other energy sources. Because unlike fossil fuels, nuclear power plants have a higher energy density than fossil fuels. Therefore the amount of fuel required by nuclear power plants is much less than what is required for other power plants as the energy released from nuclear fission is about 10 million times greater than the amount of energy produced by a fossil fuel atom. And the main benefit is that it doesn’t rely on fossil fuels and isn’t influenced by oil and gas costs, unlike those energy sources nuclear energy doesn’t emit greenhouse gasses and it’s also renewable, yes you heard me right. I don’t believe that nuclear energy is renewable, and uranium, the nuclear fuel used to produce this energy is limited and cannot be produced again on demand but with the use of breeder and fusion reactors, we can produce other fissionable elements. Some such as plutonium which is produced by the products of a chain-reaction. Also if we know how to control the atomic fusion, the reactions that fuel the sun we might be able to have an almost limitless source of energy. All those positive impacts are focused energy because the main use of radioactive elements such as uranium is energy, but there is a lot of other positive uses of radioactive elements like cancer treatment, smoke detectors, food reservation, killing microbes, etc. ' ' We mentioned the pros but we all know there are cons. We don’t have to take the negative impacts as a reason to forget the positive impacts, instead, we can take the negative impacts and try to find a solution for them. So here are the negative impacts of radioactivity that we need to find a solution so we could develop this world into a better place. ' ' Starting off, Radioactivity contains different harmful rays, some of those rays penetrate through human skin and tissues and clothes can’t shield the human body enough when those rays enter the human body they cause serious damage like baldness and unidentified change of genes and human properties and on some occasion cancer and other major diseases. For example, some people till now are dealing with medical issues because of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, that disaster emitted some much harmful rays that really affected humans and living things in ways we didn’t think were possible, like babies having four legs or 2 heads or no legs. For example, people affected by gamma rays from the Hiroshima tragedy and they became bald after the incident by 2 days. That makes radioactivity overly terrifying that’s why it should be guaranteed 100% safety before making any power plants including radioactive elements. Secondly, Nuclear weapons are still being made up to this day using radioactive elements, those weapons have too much destructive power to be taken lightly. People believe nuclear bombs will not be used again but after all uses of the nuclear bombs, all countries with nuclear power started improving and adding to their nuclear arsenal, countries now have the power to literally blow up the earth into pieces, 140000 people died from the Hiroshima bombing, 40% of the city population was killed, and 74000 people died from the Nagasaki bombing. Those numbers are terrifying, and that's just 2 bombs, took many lives...now every country has from 10-7000 bombs and weapons in their nuclear arsenal. Accidents could happen, and we need to put an end to them before they prevail. Also, radioactivity takes a huge toll on nature, because plants need non-ionizing radiation such as light to continue doing the photosynthesis process, which is a good effect. But when for example the Chernobyl incident happened in 1986 in Russia, plants received a lot of ionizing radiation. A huge cloud of radiation was formed which resulted in an unbelievable amount of plants getting destroyed, mainly pine trees in the area. So from that, we interpret that large amounts of radiation can be devastating to the environment. Last but not least, we have nuclear waste. Nuclear waste is the waste caused by nuclear bomb explosions that contain radioactive material. It is really expensive to get rid of and not as easy to get rid of as if you get close to it you might get affected by radioactivity. It is so hazardous and needs to be dealt with safely. All those negative impacts have solutions and our job is to find those solutions to make the world a better place, of course, there are more negative impacts but those are the main ones and the rest build upon them. ' ' I conclude by saying radioactivity is harmful and could cause a lot of deaths in instants but there is a way to stop it and that’s our goal. Some organizations have been working hard to have a world without radioactivity. That why we need to work hard and show our country leaders how much this problem is majorly important and how much we need to find a solution. After all this world is our gift, and we need to take care of it just like we take care of ourselves. But the question is how? What do you think, how can we solve radioactivity’s problem and make this world a better place? ' ' References: * “Radiation: the Pros and Cons.” The Independent, Independent Digital News and Media, 17 Sept. 2011, https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/radiation-the-pros-and-cons-5331489.html. ' ' * The Discovery of Radioactivity, https://www2.lbl.gov/abc/wallchart/chapters/03/4.html. ' ' * “Radiation Effects on the Environment.” LIVESTRONG.COM, Leaf Group, https://www.livestrong.com/article/236518-radiation-effects-on-the-environment/. ' ' * “Uses of Radiation.” United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission - Protecting People and the Environment, https://www.nrc.gov/about-nrc/radiation/around-us/uses-radiation.html. ' ' * “Sources & Uses.” Radiation Answers, https://www.radiationanswers.org/radiation-sources-uses.html. ' ' * “Radioactive Decay.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 17 Oct. 2019, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radioactive_decay. ' ' * Touran, N. “What Is Radioactivity?” Whatisnuclear.com Icon, https://whatisnuclear.com/radioactivity.html.